Friday, July 11, 2014

Staying Alive Out There. Epilogue.

Its truly sad to watch that last video. That's why we teach cycling education, whatever damn name we call it. Here is why.

All bicycle politics aside, the laws of physics tell us that the
bicycle handles as a two wheeled vehicle, not as a pedestrian, is
capable of a variety of speeds and requires specific skills and adequate
space to be operated as a bicycle whether riding in a straight line or
changing direction. A bicycle, like a motorcycle, is a small vehicle
easy to miss in mixed traffic. Like a motorcycle, it provides little
protection in a crash. One needs bicycle-specific physical and mental
skills to operate a bicycle-regardless of the facility
present, because one's safety is far more dependent on staying out of
trouble than when operating a car.

One therefore needs to develop skills to operate the vehicle beyond
pedaling in an idyllic environment, i.e., to respond to changes,
unplanned events, and emergencies. This is where I diverge with some of
the Streetsblog crowd, who I think are overprotective and set cyclists up to fail. One needs basic bike handling skills and the
ability to evaluate whether the bike is safe to ride. One needs the
mental skills to know how traffic operates and to recognize the hazards
that may be present given any road, path, or traffic configuration. One
needs to use one's knowledge of how people see their surroundings in
order to determine one's optimal position on the road or even when on a
cycle facility to maximize visibility and protect one's critical operating space (when on my bike or motorcycle, I am always asking "how
best can I maximize my visibility?"). One needs the mental awareness to
process knowledge of potential hazards in advance (in motorcycle-speak,
we use the acronym "SEE", Search, Evaluate, Execute) so one can respond
adequately if one actually emerges. For example, what do you think and
do if an oncoming vehicle slows down when approaching you at an
intersection where you both have the green and where left turns are
allowed? Finally, one needs to know how traffic works so one avoids
putting one's self in a very hazardous situation, such as passing a
truck on the right going into an intersection or along a tight curb.

None of this is defined by whether bike lanes or cycletracks are present.

Where the different organizations seem to diverge is in some of the
political stuff. In those cases, amicable divorces are often better
than tortured marriages. Sometimes, organizations, like people, can be
better friends then spouses. I'm glad some of the LCI crew have taken
the CS training. Good cross pollination.

2 comments:

Nothing philosophical, just a head's up consistent with the AWARENESS theme in this article. For those who ride Tesuque road - there's a blind spot - cars coming out of the lower exit at the Post Office cannot see up the road to their left. So if you're on your way down, keep an eye out, I've had 2 close calls there in the last two weeks - saw them pulling out before they ever saw me and applied the brakes.